Ceremony is important to us in so many ways. Whether it’s a birthday celebration, a visit to church or synagogue, a holiday tradition, a Native American healing ceremony or a personal ceremony is our own homes. Today is both the new moon, a perfect time for great ceremony offerings to create and manifest our dreams, and also the day that ushers in the Chinese New Year: the year of the Dragon! I’m sending you over to my sacred lodge sister, Karen Chrappa’s blog site, A Structure for Spirit,  to participate in a virtual ceremony, based on the traditions of the Andean shamans of Peru.

http://astructureforspirit.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/planting-despacho-ceremony-now-open/
Ceremony anchors intentions and is easy to follow. The beautiful thing about the way Karen does ceremony, is it includes everyone in nearly every belief system. I believe that Spirit calls to us in its own way, in the words that speak personally to each of us. What works for me may not speak or work for you. So I like to send out information so people can be exposed to the different ways of experiencing and celebrating the Universe or Spirit.

A little bit about despacho: Karen explains more in her blog, but the overall idea is that a despacho is a ceremony that brings participants in alignment with their dreams and goals, while showing appreciation for the gifts we have. It is an offering and a prayer, a connection to the Divine within us, and the great Spirit as a whole. It also connects us in thanks to the earth, giving reciprocity for what we receive, making a divine exchange. It’s also beautiful and fun!

A little bit about the Year of the Dragon: While we in the west think of the dragon as a fiercely violent creature, in Chinese astrology, the Dragon is a divine and powerful beast, a deliverer of good fortune. To me, this makes doing ceremony on the day of both the new moon and Chinese New Year mighty powerful!

The passionate dragon is unafraid of challenge, is independent (sometimes to a fault, so be careful!). It is a year of optimism (woohoo!) This year is considered to be especially auspicious, as it is the year of the water Dragon, which happens only once every 60 years. So economically and personally, positive change is coming! People are talking about economic recovery, after the unstable year of the Rabbit.

So here’s to tapping into the full energy of the Year of the Dragon AND the New Moon. Set some intentions and believe in it. Give it a whirl…Would love to hear how you celebrated this day!

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